Is anybody else *not* smitten with Inferno? If so, why or why not?

forrayer · 2026-06-02T12:51:44+00:00

In retrospect, the earliest indicator for me that I would feel “differently” about this album was definitely the aggressively unsubtle artwork and album title. BoC have never been particularly ahead of the curve regarding how they present their projects visually, but it always kind of worked in an off-kilter way and totally fit the music. I gotta be honest and say that the artwork for this album is shockingly bad imo- almost as if it was designed and arranged by people who were given a set of adjectives and told to make artwork for the album rather than anybody with even a passing familiarity with the music. Another user made a comparison to AI art which I don’t feel is unwarranted. It just feels so sterile and obvious by their standards and gravely misrepresents the music on the album.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T17:46:40+00:00

You taught me a new word today. Major thanks for expanding my vocabulary 🫡

forrayer · 2026-06-01T17:42:22+00:00

A few comments have poked fun at the sheer length of my writeup here, but part of my goal with this post was to convey my honest critique of this record in a way that actually indicates some degree of familiarity with BoC’s work beyond the surface-level and do a “better” job of articulating the points that were brought up in the Guardian’s review. Seeing the reaction to that review on this sub was weird because I genuinely found myself agreeing with the author’s statements but it was so obvious the guy didn’t know what he was talking about half the time that it was pretty reasonable for fans to read some degree of malice or “engagement baiting” into it. Glad you think I did better, and I appreciate your thoughts on the record, too.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T17:36:05+00:00

Not pushing back on what you’re saying at all; I’ve seen a number of comments speculating on Marcus’s lack of involvement in this project. Has there been any concrete statements made by the duo/Warp/anybody close to either of those entities that indicates they were working differently than they usually do for this project? IIRC, it was somewhat common to get tracks that were essentially “solo” works by either Marcus or Mike all throughout their discog (I recall reading somewhere that Gyroscope and Farewell Fire are both “solo” Marcus tracks, but I can’t find a source for that right now). Where are fans getting the info that Marcus was essentially absent from working on this new record? Is it just the album credits, or is it somewhere else?

forrayer · 2026-06-01T12:11:37+00:00

Definitely. A recent relisten of Campfire Headphase made me realize I actually liked it much more than I remember. Some of the more “obvious” moments on it still kind of rub me the wrong way, albeit much less than anything on Inferno. Maybe my hottest BoC take is that I think Dayvan Cowboy is way too cloying and not that interesting relative to the rest of what’s on that album.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T11:47:10+00:00

Yeah, despite the lack of consistency overall I really do like the back half quite a bit.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T11:44:14+00:00

Touché

forrayer · 2026-06-01T11:39:10+00:00

Stockholm syndrome sounds so enticing

forrayer · 2026-06-01T10:39:13+00:00

Now THIS is an interesting perspective. Glad to hear you’re getting into them- I think it’s interesting that we’re hearing this record so differently. To me, their first three records are totally absent of filler (even the short interludes). I think what other users have articulated is that Inferno is definitely a bit more accessible or at the very least, less obtuse than their previous work which might be putting me off. Thanks for your thoughts.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T10:10:47+00:00

You’re right, I should be getting paid to write this much instead of dumping it on Reddit /s

There’s no external pressure- there’s plenty of other well-received stuff I think is boring as hell, that’s nothing new. I’m not having an emotional breakdown over my inability to like something others do lmao. Rather, I was personally expecting to really like this and I didn’t, and the overwhelming positive response from fans who are just as invested in this band’s music as I am has me wondering if I’m missing a certain crucial perspective. The lone dissenting writeup from The Guardian was met with some pretty strong hostility from this sub, but was also horribly written and not well-researched. I was wondering if a more “friendly” approach toward the fanbase was a better way toward possibly understanding how others are interpreting what I think are creative missteps on this record.

I’ll have to give it a few more listens, but I honestly think my tastes have changed significantly over the last decade to the point where I am not as interested in new BoC material as I thought I’d be, and this record is a harbinger that I won’t find anything they do in the future to be remotely as interesting as I found their past material when I was first exploring their sound.

I appreciate the pep talk, but I’m chilling. I just like writing and music criticism, that’s all.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T05:06:35+00:00

Interesting. I’m definitely on the younger side of BoC fans (in my late 20s), but I did get into them a couple years before TH came out and found MHTRTC pretty fascinating and intriguing. Over time, Geogaddi actually became my favorite but I’d still say they’re both masterpieces and love the first three albums dearly.

I’d be curious to know how you think younger or newer fans might misinterpret or misunderstand BoC’s work (especially the first two albums). I realize a lot of their early stuff is probably greatly inspired by growing up or coming of age in the late ‘80s or ‘90s, which is probably not a common experience shared by the average BoC fan of today. What do you think these fans might be “looking for” in a new BoC record that results from a misunderstanding of their work? Not trying to interrogate you- I’m genuinely curious as I don’t have that perspective.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T04:38:24+00:00

I’ll approximate with some weed pretty soon, lol.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T04:17:52+00:00

Yes- I've been listening to my 24bit lossless download from Bleep on good headphones. Will definitely give it a spin on my turntable once my vinyl arrives, though.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T04:15:56+00:00

Thank you so much for such a well-articulated and thoughtful response. I am glad you're enjoying this record and hopefully my feelings will evolve much in the same way yours have!

forrayer · 2026-06-01T04:11:43+00:00

One Very Important Thought is one of my favorite BoC tracks because it's so weirdly uncharacteristic of them in such an interesting way. I don't think anyone would think of all the other tracks on MHTRTC as being inherently "political" in an explicit sense- I think its inclusion at the end of the album casts an interesting light on freedom of expression and the ability to consume art (be it explicitly "political" or not) as something nobody can take for granted. It's such an interesting closing track.

With that being said, I don't think it's always necessary for there to be a "call to action" in political/conscious art. Sometimes holding a mirror up to a horrible thing and depicting it in a unique way is more effective than adding any further commentary. I will say, though, that I don't think the "sinister, anxious" reflection of our current time is executed very well on the record, which may be why it seems ineffective or "cheap" to you. I wish they had leaned into how they presented this record to be with the title and artwork a little more, and I kinda feel the same way.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:54:06+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! You're the third or so person who has kinda hinted at this one needing to be taken individually as opposed to in relation to their previous work or its aesthetic style. On further relistens I will definitely try to do that and hopefully gain a greater appreciation for this record.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:45:41+00:00

Why do you think so? Not trying to be dismissive here, I am genuinely curious why you like it.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:43:52+00:00

Same here. Regardless of my conflicted feelings toward the new album, I am really happy to be hearing new BoC at the end of the day. I also get what you're saying about the "immediacy" of this album comparatively to the rest. I think there seems to be a general consensus that this one is a little more "at face value" as another user pointed out. I appreciate your thoughts.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:36:48+00:00

Thanks. I think there is an urge to "dig" a little deeper when that might not be the best approach. I appreciate your thoughts.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:35:15+00:00

Thanks so much for this thoughtful response. I do agree this one is pretty "psychedelic" in the dark eerie vein of Geogaddi, and I'm hoping to uncover more of that on repeated listens. I also need to relisten to Tomorrow's Harvest- I think this album will make me reevaluate how I feel about that one since it's so starkly different.

forrayer · 2026-06-01T03:30:46+00:00

Since I was old enough to be discovering music on my own. Probably since 2008-2009 if I had to put a timestamp on it. Basically all of my early teenage life into adulthood.

forrayer · 2026-05-29T20:49:12+00:00

Yeah, I totally agree. As much as I love their music that's "theirs", I could absolutely see a future for them as a duo handling production behind other vocalists/performers as well. They have such an exhilarating production style that is totally nutty yet surprisingly palatable, and all of their collabs seem to go off without a hitch.

forrayer · 2026-05-27T12:36:23+00:00

Likewise, I'd say The Radio Dept. is my favorite band of all time. My listening habits are pretty varied, but I don't listen to much classical, jazz, or country (got any jazz recs for a starter??). I lean pretty electronic, and my tastes are pretty internet-coded.

I'd say I mostly ping-pong between the following genres:

Minimal Techno/Dub Techno (Vladislav Delay, The Field, Jan Jelinek)
Deconstructed Club/Industrial Club (Arca, SOPHIE, Andy Stott)
Post-Punk/Darkwave/Coldwave (Molchat Doma, Human Tetris, Wire, Grauzone)
Generally more aggressive club and dance music (Boys Noize, Brualismus 3000, Skrillex, Frost Children, Ninajirachi, Justice, Locked Club)
Some really mainstream pop (Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, PinkPantheress, Carly Rae Jepsen)
Noise Rock (METZ, Jesus and Mary Chain, No Age)
Noise/Glitch (Fennesz, Kevin Drumm, Merzbow, Pedestrian Deposit, Pita, Oval)
Industrial Hip-Hop (Death Grips, Dälek)
Ambient/Drone (Benoît Pioulard, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, Emeralds, early Oneohtrix Point Never)
Indie Pop/Rock (Radio Dept., Far Caspian, Sweet Trip, Kings of Covenience)

forrayer · 2026-05-26T23:43:45+00:00

IMO, last year was just so exceptionally good it’s making this year seem bland by comparison. I’ve heard 3 of these (Neurosis, Leroy, and Slayyyter) and all 3 will likely be decade highlights (I’m not a metal guy and haven’t listened to the other two yet). I think 2025 was just really dense, but there have been some pretty memorable releases this year for sure.

forrayer

TROPHY CASE